IN April I was told I could get my renewed driver’s license in June. Not to be mailed to my postal address but for pick-up.
Added expense.
Time lost.
June came. No license. No notice.
I called up the Land Transportation Office (LTO). Wrong move.
From an LTO factotum:
“Do you not read the papers?”
“I do,” I said, keeping my cool. “But what’s that got to do with my license?”
“It’s in the papers that all licenses will be released in September.”
The LTO thus assumed all of us read the papers. Genius.
In the papers this week—particularly the July 21 Inquirer issue—it was reported that the LTO will continue to issue new motor vehicle license plates despite a recent Commission on Audit (COA) ruling declaring as illegal the 2013 contract entered into by the LTO with the license-plate supplier. The COA had also disallowed the LTO’s payments to the supplier in 2014.
The COA based its July 13 decision on its findings that the LTO awarded the 2013 contract to Power Plates Development Concepts Inc.-J.Knieriem B.V. Goes (PPI-JKG) in violation of the Auditing Code since the award was done without an allotment in the 2014 national budget.
Already, the LTO paid P477 million to PPI-JKG in 2014, an act the the COA said was illegal as it violated the Government Procurement Act even as it gave the LTO six months to “settle” or appeal the case.
The COA had, likewise, told the LTO only in April to stop payments to PPI-JKG after the LTO had failed to submit contract documents requested by the COA.
But look at this. The LTO showed belligerence.
Said Jason Salvador, the LTO spokesman, as quoted by Inquirer: “We cannot just discontinue the license-plate standardization program…. So we will continue…. We will appeal the COA disallowance, and we are confident they will see the light.”
See the light. Umm. So the COA has not seen the light, huh?
Has the LTO seen brand-new plates getting deformed at the slightest drop of rain?
Or, to borrow a line from Dave Macasadia’s favorite song, “Has the LTO ever seen the rain?”
STV’s Auto Focus new voting system
IT is not 60-40 anymore but 80-20. That’s the new equation in the voting for the Auto Focus People’s Choice Awards for the best cars of 2015 to 2016.
Since 2012 60 percent went to sales as against 40 percent to people’s ballots. The ratio will now be 80 percent for people’s votes and 20 percent for unit sales.
“It’s time to make a change,” said Jenny Bleza, a major cog in the STV organization. “The boss himself wants to set things aright.”
The boss, of course, is Ray Butch “Elvis” Gamboa, the STV patriarch whose now-iconic Motoring Today pioneered TV car shows in the country.
“With the 80-percent weight going to public votes,” Gamboa said, “we are highlighting the ‘People’s Choice’ essence of the awards and, likewise, recognizing the special effort the public had been entrusting to the event all these years.”
More punch than before
DISPLAYING once more his usual keen eye on industry trends, Gamboa took note on sales as not necessarily the final barometer on a vehicle’s worth and stature in the market.
“While votes do not necessarily mirror actual sales, particularly with pricier but more desired models, it matters that that is where certain cars are at a disadvantage when sales volumes are finally factored in,” Gamboa said. “Thus, this year’s weight ratios should balance out total scores more equitably. It will, likewise, make the public happier to know that their votes now have more punch than before.”
As usual, Stradcom and the LTO remain the key players in this yearly event, with Gerry Aquino, my bosom glassmate, providing the final touches as top presenter in the awards night that is highlighted by the crowning of the “Model of the Year” and “Automobile of the Year” plums.
Let’s bring it on, Elvis!
PEE STOP. Rommel Sytin, Foton’s youthful owner, has been doing wonders for his Foton with contagious consistency, beginning with his bold move to put Foton in the world of sports. Besides bombarding the Philippine Basketball Association with high-impact Foton ads the last two years or so, Rommel has also a powerhouse team playing in big-time women’s volleyball. Indeed, through sports, one can derive revenue-producing results not usually realized on other frontiers. And while basking in that new-found playground, Rommel went even further by breaking ground in music. Do you know that Foton is a big backer of the July 23 and 24 Aegis concert at Music Museum? What’s next from Rommel leaves the motoring world in animated suspense. Attaboy, Rommel!…Quezon City will soon see its own state-of-the-art theater, thanks to Kia’s initiative the Kia Theater will rise shortly in the nation’s capital…And while Toyota is still nursing a happy hangover following that “One-Million Sales Milestone” affair to celebrate Toyota’s 1-millionth unit sold recently, the world No. 1 automaker will yet launch the All-New Hi-Lux on July 28 at Clark, Pampanga. While I wait with bated breadth Hi-Lux’s historic unveiling, I, likewise, expect Jade B. Sison’s emceeing chores once again on the occasion. The motoring media still swoons over Jade’s masterful control of the “One-Million…” event, which drew praise from no less than Vince Socco. Socco, who flew all the way from his lofty perch as a top gun in Toyota Motor Corp.-Tokyo for that affair, said of Jade, with Sherwin ChuaLim nearby: “She, sure, can hold a candle in the wind…” Happy birthday to Mayasoh M. Sadiwa, Danny “Sir John” Isla and Sol F. Juvida. Cheers for beers!